“What do you intend doing with Leach and Johnson?”
He shook his head. “Really, Hump, I don’t know. You see, with these additions I’ve about all the crew I want.”
“And they’ve about all the escaping they want,” I said. “Why not give them a change of treatment? Take them aboard, and deal gently with them. Whatever they have done they have been hounded into doing.”
“By me?”
“By you,” I answered steadily. “And I give you warning, Wolf Larsen, that I may forget love of my own life in the desire to kill you if you go too far in maltreating those poor wretches.”
“Bravo!” he cried. “You do me proud, Hump! You’ve found your legs with a vengeance. You’re quite an individual. You were unfortunate in having your life cast in easy places, but you’re developing, and I like you the better for it.”
His voice and expression changed. His face was serious. “Do you believe in promises?” he asked. “Are they sacred things?”
“Of course,” I answered.
“Then here’s a compact,” he went on, consummate actor. “If I promise not to lay my hands upon Leach will you promise, in turn, not to attempt to kill me?”
“Oh, not that I’m afraid of you, not that I’m afraid of you,” he hastened to add.